


Boundaries (Worth It)

by frequencyshift



Category: Pitch Perfect (2012)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-16
Updated: 2013-07-16
Packaged: 2017-12-20 09:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/885495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frequencyshift/pseuds/frequencyshift
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some people have boundaries, some people don't. Some people mind, and some don't care.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Boundaries (Worth It)

Chloe's never been much of one for boundaries. It's not that she doesn't know that some people consider that problematic - ever since childhood, there's always been that person to shoulder her away and say, in no small words, that she's creeping them out. She tries not to be too hurt, and does her best to stay away, and sometimes that fixes things and sometimes it doesn't.

But boundaries are things she just doesn't understand. Why wouldn't someone want a hug? Or a pat on the shoulder, or a quick grasp on the arm? All of those things say "hey, I like you, and I want you to feel good." Not (necessarily) in a sexual way, just in an awesome way. She's never once disliked a hug she's gotten. The concept is so foreign that she just never seems to think of it on her own, as a reason why she sometimes just loses people in her life.

Aubrey thinks Chloe's sweet. She didn't meet the high-stress blonde until junior year, when on a whim she allowed herself to be pulled into a cappella (it may or may not have been something to do with her at-the-moment boyfriend being a senior in the Treblemakers). She dumps him not long afterwards, but sticks with the Bellas, and it probably has to do with the girl who obviously wants to bite her nails but won't. The one who seems to just melt a little every time Chloe touches her. They're best friends long after Chloe learns that she's the one who makes Aubrey's world stop spinning, but she knew they would be eventually.

Aubrey thinks Chloe's sweet, but Chloe also thinks Aubrey looks at her as a bit of a ditz. It's obvious in the way she talks, the way she sometimes bosses Chloe around without thinking about it. The way that, when they don't agree over something small, or even not-so-small, Chloe's just wrong and that's that. Chloe hates it, but every time she wants to talk about it something comes up (and it's lucky she has such a strong stomach, because there's nothing more serious than Aubrey vomiting) and she knows the only thing stopping the blonde's world from going out of control is Chloe's soothing hand on Aubrey's back. Chloe doesn't mind, because Aubrey is her best friend and this is just how they work.

Tom thinks Chloe's awesome. She found him at the beginning of the year, a sophomore transfer who likes music but doesn't think it holds a candle to political science. It makes him a bit of a nerd (it's cool, because she knows she's not one to talk) but he's gorgeous, which totally helps. He doesn't mind her lack of boundaries either, but that's probably just because he likes having sex with her. She likes it too, although she doesn't think it's going to be much more than that. It's nice that he doesn't ever shrug her off, though. She's used to guys thinking she's just too clingy.

Tom thinks Chloe's awesome, but Chloe also thinks Tom just doesn't care what she thinks. He'll talk with her, sometimes for hours, but in the end all he really wants is in her pants. He likes having her hang all over him because she boosts his image, and because it makes it easy for him to get something going. It makes her sad, a bit, but every time she thinks she wants to say something he kisses her, or worse, opens his mouth and starts talking about nothing she finds remotely interesting (and maybe it's the topic, because she's never going to like politics, but then again maybe it's just him) and she knows that the only thing stopping him from leaving is Chloe's body draped over his. Chloe doesn't really mind, so long as she doesn't think too much about it.

Beca thinks Chloe's weird. Chloe is pretty sure Beca is the best part of this year, even if Aubrey violently disagrees and Tom would if he knew. She has boundary issues, and still jumps whenever Chloe touches her. She covers up with sarcastic comments, but it's obvious that she doesn't want to be touched. Chloe relishes the moments she gets with Beca, not the ones where she's got her hands on the girl's hips trying to show her the choreography or the ones where they're singing together (and when they sing together, just the two of them, it doesn't even matter what song it is because Chloe gets just the littlest bit weak in the knees at how amazing they sound) but the ones where Beca winks at her or rolls her eyes, because even though she thinks Chloe's weird she likes her anyway, and knowing that always makes Chloe's smile brighter.

Beca thinks Chloe's weird, but Chloe also thinks Beca is one of the sweetest girls she's ever met because she'd never tell Chloe that to hurt her. She hates the physical contact, hates the way Chloe just gets up in her space and drapes herself all over the other girl, and that breaks Chloe's heart in a way it never has before. Because Beca won't say anything, and that makes her worth more to Chloe than any of the friends she's lost before to her inability to keep her distance. Beca is the first person to make Chloe realize (really know it, really have it sink into her heads in a way that no one ever has before, maybe because this is the first time she's seen it before something had to be said) that maybe not everyone wants to be touched. So Chloe backs off on her own accord, and it's hard and confusing and hurts a bit. Chloe minds quite a bit.

Chloe still doesn't really get boundaries. She still hugs people, and gets uncomfortably close, and she still doesn't see the problem with nudity. She wants people to know that she likes them, and she wants them to feel good, and she just doesn't understand why everyone doesn't feel that way.

But when it comes to Beca, she keeps her distance now. Because Chloe thinks Beca is worth it.

\---

Beca didn't use to be all about boundaries. When she was little, she liked hugs as much as the next kid. But years of being teased for her size (and while she's not THAT tiny, for some reason everyone likes to say she is) and her parents volatile divorce, she found herself pushing people away. And while Beca's friends eventually accepted her back when she pulled her head out of her ass, she never was quite the same afterward.

She gets them, though. Gets why people have them, and why some people have more than others. Beca respects boundaries, and she thinks that's why by the end of high school she somehow had more "friends" than she could count. She uses quotes, because most of them know absolutely nothing about her. But it's apparently nice to hang out with someone who'll never push you to talk, who is fine just studying or listening to music or going for a drive. Even if none of them are really close, it's nice.

Kimmy Jin thinks Beca is annoying. There's probably a few other words her roommate would use, but annoying is the one that floats in the room between them every time they occupy the same space. It baffles Beca a bit, because it's not like Beca doesn't respect her boundaries. She generally doesn't talk to her, stays on her side of the room, cleans up after herself. She just sits with her music, and occasionally with one of her friends. Kimmy Jin is still annoyed with her, though (and maybe things would get better if Beca didn't occasionally snark so hard she can see the steam coming out of the Korean's ears) and Beca doesn't really know what to say to that.

Kimmy Jin thinks Beca is annoying, but Beca also thinks Kimmy Jin is a little bit grateful. Because Beca could be so much worse. She could be loud, and talkative, she could walk heavy-footed everywhere, she could come and go at all hours of the night. She could be having sex in the room all the time (well, highly unlikely, Kimmy Jin doesn't even really know her and she'd probably laugh at that idea anyway) and just generally making a nuisance of herself. All things considered, Beca is probably the best non-Korean roommate Kimmy Jin could've asked for, and if they're never, ever going to be friendly and hug and paint each others nails, then that's just the way it is. Beca doesn't really care, because in the end it's not like they're friends.

Jesse thinks Beca is amazing. He was the first person she met, if you count getting serenaded to Kansas as meeting someone, and somehow he's managed to worm his way into her life in a way she didn't quite expect. Because Jesse isn't satisfied with her boundaries, he wants to see the real Beca. He doesn't want to just break them down with a bulldozer, though, he just wants to get her to take them down herself. And his funny jokes, and shy smile, and the sparkle in his eyes all make up for his obsession with movies (and it's an obsession, because they talk about school and they talk about music but they also spend a ridiculous amount of time talking about movies, where she listens because that's what she does and he doesn't mind that he's forcing this on her) and when he grabs at her to pull her to see the record he just discovered in the station, she just laughs.

Jesse thinks Beca is amazing, but Beca also thinks Jesse just sees her as the girl to his boy. The heroine to his hero, the Emma Stone to his Penn Badgely (and, yeah, she's seen _Easy A_ because she doesn't live under a rock, she just spent most of the movie making out with her high school boyfriend) and the Princess to his Criminal. He wants her to fall in love with him because of an ideal, she thinks, and it makes her even more reluctant to let her boundaries fall. Because he makes her smile, and he's fun to be around, but he doesn't seem to really _see_ her. He doesn't seem to accept all of who she is, and that makes her feel a bit down, but really, what did she expect? Beca kind of cares, but not enough to be mean to him, which is really just the story of their relationship.

Chloe thinks Beca is wonderful. Of course, she thinks everyone is wonderful, so Beca doesn't let herself feel too special. But the girl has a heart of gold, and when she smiles it makes Beca want to snark about the wattage. She doesn't, though, because Chloe is quite possibly the nicest person Beca has ever met, in a totally non-ironic way, and she's surprised that she thinks that's kind of cool. Chloe talks a lot, but doesn't make Beca feel like Chloe doesn't care about her opinion. Chloe just seems to want to be Beca's friend, a real friend (she doesn't know if she's had a real friend since her parents' divorce, and that's embarrassing to admit even just to herself) and for them to have fun together.

Chloe thinks Beca is wonderful, but Beca also thinks Chloe doesn't know what to make of her either. Chloe has no boundaries, and Beca thinks that's kind of awesome in the weirdest way ever. But Chloe apparently has boundaries with her, because one day she just sort of stops getting in her face (and Beca wouldn't say she misses it, exactly, just that it changed and that's weird in its own way) and Beca doesn't understand why. Chloe still talks to her, and laughs, and wants to spend time together, like, always, but she doesn't touch her. Chloe is her best friend, and despite the fact that she's never been more comfortable letting her boundaries down with someone Chloe just doesn't seem to treat her the same as she treats everyone else, and that bothers her. Beca cares a lot.

Beca still has boundaries. She still flinches a bit when someone touches her, and uses her sarcasm to push people away, and she still ends up with more friends than she expected to because she's good at not pushing other people's boundaries. Hell, even Aubrey warms to her eventually.

But when it comes to Chloe, she aches a little. Because Beca thinks Chloe is worth it.


End file.
